Prelude to Avengers
by moonborne
Summary: In which Pepper and Tony (especially Tony), have a lot to learn about being in a relationship together. Sequel to "IM2: Epilogue." It picks up immediately from end of that fic. Lots of Pepperony goodness, feels, fluff, and banter. Gets into their heads as they adjust to being a couple. Guest appearances from Coulson, Happy, and Rhodey (so far).
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I find that I'm more linear than I expected, and I can't just jump to post-Avengers yet. This'll be something to bring us to Avengers. This has been slower going than I thought; I took home a freelance project this weekend and it's occupying a lot of my time! **

**I didn't want to just leave Pepper and Tony off from where I left them after my previous fic, "IM2: Epilogue." The process of them becoming a couple is fascinating to me and I want to go into that some more.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters**

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"Do you choose to continue being Iron Man because you're still guilty about what Stark Industries was manufacturing for so many years?" Pepper asks Tony. They've been enjoying their last night in Venice, mostly in bed, and she's tucked against his side, his arm around her. He drums his fingers absently drum against his RT, thinking that this is the most serious conversation he's had after mind-blowing sex.

"That's part of it," he says. He's never had to put his reasons into words for someone. "My weapons, in the hands of the wrong people, have hurt and killed innocent people. I should've known what Obi was doing with Stark Industries, and I was too comfortable with developing more weapons and making billions off of them. I didn't care, and I put too much trust in the wrong person."

"It's not your fault, Tony," she says. "Obadiah fooled all of us." She didn't think he'd open up and actually talk about it. Tony, for all the bravado he shows to the public, keeps a lot to himself (case in point, the whole dying via palladium poisoning secret). She'd been wanting to ask this question ever since he'd announced his alter ego to the world, but never found the right time to ask. Pepper figured that now they'd gone from boss-employee to lovers, she was entitled to some answers.

"I know it's not all my fault," he says, "but I contributed with my ignorance. Afghanistan opened my eyes, and I finally grew up. Emerged from my iron cocoon, so to speak. Become the iron butterfly I was always meant to be."

"You're so ridiculous sometimes," Pepper said, pinching him. Trust Tony to take a flippant turn with a serious conversation. "So what's the other part of it?"

"You rejected me before the press conference, and I figured that becoming a superhero would impress you enough to forgive me for leaving you on the roof that night," he said, pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Anthony Edward Stark, are you telling me that your decision to fly around in a metal suit and dodge bullets is my fault?" she said in that serious tone. Tony actually enjoys it when she starts scolding him; he thinks she's adorable when she's mad at him.

"I admit it didn't work as quickly as I would've liked," he said, running a hand down her back, "but I've got a naked Pepper Potts in my arms, so it was worth the wait."

She doesn't have a response to that immediately. She'd rather not have to worry about Tony dying while wearing the suit, but she has to admit that he's right about changing and finding a purpose. And a woman can't help but be flattered when a man makes himself into a superhero to impress you. Even if she's just part of the reason he's doing it.

"I hope that your future attempts to impress me are less grandiose and result in less e-mails from PR," she said, pushing herself up on her elbow so he could see her face in the glow from his RT. She wanted him to see her smiling face and be reassured that she supported him, and was proud of him. "It's not easy for me to see you fly off into danger, but it helps to understand why you do what you do, finally."

"Tony Stark does not do anything but grand gestures," he said, cupping her face and kissing her. "You'll just have to deal with it."

She smiled, "I always do."

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**Note 5/12/13: Something is wrong with the e-mail alerts, so I'm waiting until after it's fixed to post anything new.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The alerts are working again! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Your encouragement keeps me going!**

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_Following Pepper and Tony's return from Italy..._

Pepper is still amazed that Tony keeps their relationship to himself, despite his insistence about grand gestures. She thinks it's because he's had so much of his activities, personal and heroic, splashed across newspapers and magazines for years. He likes having something that is just his, and she's okay with that.

Some financial news columnists have insinuated that she slept her way to the top. It's funny to her that her _not sleeping _with Tony during his playboy days have helped her get named CEO. Her refusal to become one of his conquests so easily, along with her intelligence and professionalism, earned his respect and while he never said it to her face, he was more likely to listen to her than anyone else. Fortunately, a decade of being known as Tony's wrangler has helped the board accept her.

At the next board meeting, she outlined the plan to move Stark Industries even further into the green energy sector. As Tony, who actually showed up on time, took center stage to further elaborate the plan to power a prototype building using arc reactor technology, Pepper looked at her phone to see a message from Tony.

**You look outrageously gorgeous today, Miss Potts. Got a hot date later?**

She looked up at Tony, who was taking a question from a board member, and he flicked a glance at her, a small smile tilting up a corner of his mouth.

She quickly typed her reply back: **If you don't pay attention, I will shave your goatee off while you sleep.**

Pepper watched Tony's eyes flick down to his glass phone and the smirk that followed. He very deliberately propped his chin in his hand and started stroking his trademark goatee. Her eyes narrowed.

Later, she peeked at her phone, wondering what Tony's response would say.

**If you're shaving my goatee off in my sleep, you know what must've happened right before, Sexpotts. Worth it.** **Be gentle though, I'm the face of the company.**

Her response: **Oh please.**

Tony's quick response:

"**Oh please" indeed. Isn't that what you said to me last night when you were so gloriously naked in my bed?**

And that's when Tony learned the other reason Pepper loved wearing those stilts she called shoes. He thinks she bruised his shin and he's not entirely sure that he's not bleeding. Still, it was his favorite board meeting ever. He's looking forward to the next one already.

_Back in Pepper's office..._

Tony wonders if there will ever be a time when he sits on the other side of Pepper's desk without her glaring at him. He's not sure if he ever wants that day to come, as he listens to her lecture him about appropriate behavior during meetings.

"Here's the thing, Pep," he said, leaning forward, and shoving that annoying perpetual motion Ferris wheel thing out of the way, "I can't help it that I find my girlfriend in charge of a meeting something of a turn-on, and I think you'd rather I send you some cheeky text messages instead of leaping on the table and letting all those guys know that they are most definitely not allowed to ogle you. I'm the only one who gets to ogle." His eyebrows did that waggling thing.

Tony's serious about the ogling thing. He finds that he's rather possessive of Pepper and the head of the audit committee did look like he was making eyes at her. He'd have to consult Jarvis to see if Pepper had ever gone out on a date with the guy before.

"You know, I'm taking back that goatee threat," Pepper said. "I'm going to shave your eyebrows off."

"It's because you know I'll still look good without my goatee," Tony said, insolently propping his feet up on her desk. "I'm pretty sure Dummy could draw on some eyebrows for me anyway."

She came around her desk to swat his feet back to the floor, and he took that as an opportunity to pull her into his lap.

"Congratulations on your first board meeting as CEO," Tony said softly. She blinked at him. Sometimes, Tony's quick changes of mood throw even her for a loop. "I think it went swimmingly and the board is completely behind you and your baby, Stark Tower."

"Thank you, Tony," she said, placing her hands on his shoulders. He smiles and brushes a kiss to her neck, lingering a second to breathe in her scent, and enjoying that catch in her breath that always happens when his mouth is on her. He thinks he could get addicted to this.

However, hardass CEO that Pepper is, she pushes off of him and primly tells him to get out and go to work. Tony looks back at her as he's leaving her office, loving that he put that smile on her face, and that pink in her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Work's been crazy today. This was a longer chapter, but I decided to break it up so I could post something today. Next chapter will go up faster though, I promise! Thanks for reading :) It's fun writing about Tony figuring out how to be in a real relationship.  
**

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With the success of Pepper's birthday gift, Tony found himself wanting to know everything about Pepper Potts. Her ability to keep him at professional distance between them meant that before this last week, he had never seen her out of business attire... ever. Who knew that Pepper Potts in casual attire of t-shirt and denim shorts would be as devastating as Pepper Potts in a dress with no back?

Unfortunately, in the course of learning all things Pepper, he finds an entry in her calendar. She has plans with another man – an ex-boyfriend, no less.

He kept staring at the entry: _Dinner, 6:30 p.m., Timothy Michael. _

He vaguely recalls this guy. Rather, he recalls that he called Pepper during one of their dates and said he had a (fake) emergency.

Tony used to criticize her (few) boyfriends over the years, and he noticed that none of the boyfriends were around for very long. He might have had something to do with that, what with his entirely coincidental "I need you to get over here immediately, Potts; it's an emergency, most urgent," phone calls during her dates.

He's still trying to justify it to himself that he really did need her all those times. Maybe he'd been bored then, or maybe his subconscious already loved her and he's finally caught up to it now.

The problem now is - how does he warn the ex-boyfriend (_Timothy, not Tim, _Tony recalls the uptight introduction from the one time Pepper brought him to some Stark function) that Pepper is off limits, in a way that doesn't make Pepper mad? He's pretty sure that showing up at the restaurant as Iron Man isn't one of them, but he hasn't ruled it out yet.

He breezes into Pepper's office, telling her secretary that it's about Stark Tower. The administrative staff at Stark is well used to Tony's eccentricities.

"What's this about you going out to dinner tonight with your ex? And Timothy Michael? I can't believe you went out with someone named that." He sits down and stares at her.

"I don't understand what's wrong with his name," Pepper said. She's reeling a little from the fact that Tony even recalls that she used to date the guy. Apparently, he'd been paying more attention to her than he let on. "And you said you wanted to get a solid block of time in working on the next suit."

"Yeah, yeah. It's an improvement over the portable one, since I can't always depend on who's got the case," he said, looking pointedly at her.

"At least we brought it to you!" she said. She's glaring at him again; what is it about sitting at this desk that makes her angry? He realizes it's not the desk; it's him.

"Why can't you just catch up with an appointment here at the office?" Tony asked, realizing he's gone off track.

"Scheduling just worked best this way," Pepper answers. "I'll see you after dinner."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go on a date with this guy," Tony says.

"It's a friendly dinner, Tony, not a date," Pepper said. "He's a good guy. We're just going to catch up now while he's in LA. Why are you worrying?"

"I don't trust him. He's got two first names. I never trust people with two first names."

_Later..._

Pepper, at her dinner, glances at her phone.

**Is he ogling you? You know how I feel about ogling. I think we can ditch the whole secret relationship thing. I can stop by. **

She excuses herself from the table to step away and respond, **No, he's not ogling me. Do not even think about driving over here. You are being completely irrational.**

His response: **Did you mean to leave me that loophole to fly through?**

Pepper rolled her eyes, and then thought to herself that no one else, in her entire life, makes her roll her eyes as much as Tony Stark. There must be something wrong with her that she finds this funny. Actually, no - it is funny. Tony Stark is worried about someone stealing her away.

**Definitely not, stop annoying me and go back to work. **

His quick reply: **I'm not sure I want to - it's too much fun. **

Pepper goes back to her table, but she does keep her eyes peeled for the distinctive Audi R8 Spyder, and for that matter, the sound of Iron Man's landing. She half hopes that Tony shows up in typical "look at me" fashion; Timothy (why can't he just be okay with being called Tim?) is more boring than she remembered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the super nice things you guys are saying in the reviews!**

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_Back at Tony's workshop..._

"Jarvis, has Pepper left the restaurant yet?" Tony asked, looking up from his notes on the Mark VII.

"Yes, Miss Potts is on her way home," Jarvis stated.

"Good, let me know when she comes in," Tony said, going back to his notes.

"Miss Potts is not returning here," Jarvis said. "She appears to be going back to her residence."

"Well, then never mind," he said. "I guess I was overreacting and she's right to go home."

"An understatement, sir," Jarvis replied. Tony wonders why he bothered giving Jarvis a personality.

"I suppose I deserve that," Tony said to himself. Jarvis has no reply to that, thankfully. He turned back to his work, unaccustomed to this sinking feeling in his chest. Nothing like working on the suits to distract him from something he'd rather not dwell on. Not too long after that, he heard the unmistakable sound of high heels under the blast of his music and he jerked his head up, bumping into Dummy's arm, to see Pepper walking in.

"Jarvis said you were going back to your place," Tony said, wincing as he turned the volume down.

"I did," she said, "to get some more clothes. I didn't want to walk into the office tomorrow wearing the same outfit. Do you want my assistant to think that I'm doing a walk of shame due to my ex-boyfriend being in town?"

"No!" he blurted out. He walks over to her, a solemn look on his face. His hair looks like he's been pulling at it in frustration. "This is new territory for me. I'm having a hard time with the idea of you going out with a man other than me. You know how much I don't like it when you have plans."

"I'm glad you managed to hold back from showing up at our table," she said. "Although a tiny part of me wanted you to show up. Timothy was kind of boring, and he wasn't saying nice things about you." She reaches up to stroke his hair and check that he hadn't hurt himself on Dummy.

"I am a rather fascinating man. Genius...billionaire...playboy...philanthropist, and superhero," Tony said, wrapping his arms around her to pull her closer. "I like that; I'm going to put that on my business cards. I have to include the playboy thing, but you're my only bunny. Are you saying I've made every member of the male sex inferior in comparison to myself, in your eyes?"

"At the risk of your ego blowing a hole in the newly repaired ceiling, I do believe my years with you, the most recent year in particular, make other men rather unexciting," she said, looking up and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"What did boring Timothy have to say?" Tony asked, sitting down and pulling her into his lap.

Pepper mumbled something, and her lips on his neck were distracting him from what he thought he just heard.

"Did you just say that he asked you out on a real date?" Tony asked, pulling back.

"Umm, yes, and he asked if there were any way I could get him a job at Stark," she said, biting her lip. She doesn't like telling Tony that his irrational ramblings were sort of right.

"Doubly smarmy. That's what happens when you have two first names. He's lucky I didn't show up in the suit."

"You weren't really going to do that," she said, laughing.

"I seriously thought about it, and told Jarvis to assemble the suit, but he said I was overreacting," Tony said.

Pepper smiled at him gave him a long, thorough kiss.

"What was that for?" Tony asked, kind of stupefied.

"Tony Stark was afraid another man would steal me away. Now you know how I felt all those years of enduring your bimbo parade," Pepper said, sighing and leaning her forehead against his.

"How is it possible that you could feel like this and not go insane?" Tony demanded.

"You're a genius," she said, "You'll figure out how to deal with it."

"I think I deserve a reward for all the anguish you've caused me tonight, Miss Potts," he said, picking her up and heading for the elevator.

"Is that so, Mr. Stark?" she said, looking up at him the same way she always did for ten years. He wonders how he managed to not kiss her all those times and gives the credit to his subconscious again. He must've known that he wasn't worthy of her then; it was that, or he figured she'd quit and sue him for sexual harassment. No need to worry about that anymore, he thinks happily, kissing her.

_Later..._

"While you were dealing with your anguish, did you find time to eat?" Pepper asked.

"If you're able to talk after what we just did, I think I must be doing something wrong," Tony mumbled into a pillow.

Pepper laughed, "There's definitely nothing wrong with what you did."

"No, I didn't eat," Tony continued mumbling. "Too busy working because I have a slave-driver of a CEO. And I was worrying that my girlfriend was going to run away with a guy with two first names rather than stay with the most interesting man on Earth. That beer commercial guy has nothing on me."

"You can have my leftovers from dinner," Pepper said, slipping out of bed and grabbing Tony's shirt from the floor.

An addendum to the things he's learned about Pepper Potts: She's also gorgeous wearing one of his dress shirts, and nothing else. The anguish? It was worth it.

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**It seemed like the easy thing to write a scene where Tony goes all_...Tony _and shows up at the restaurant, but I wanted to give him some credit. He's trying!**

**Side note: Timothy was going to be the guy at the board meeting Tony noticed, but it wasn't working out in my head. **


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter's more on the sweet side and less on the humorous as we look in on a quiet evening at Tony's workshop. We'll peek into both Tony and Pepper's thoughts in the same scene. **

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Pepper is pleased with the progress they've made with Stark Tower. In exchange for dropping the lawsuit over the US Military's "borrowing" of the Mark II armor, their project is being fast tracked with the least amount of red tape possible. In a little over a year, she and Tony could be showing the world that there is a powerful, clean alternative energy source out there.

Since they didn't want to burn any bridges with the government, Pepper agreed with Tony that Stark Industries would be involved with the correct outfitting of Rhodey's suit. Tony said something about Justin Hammer pretty much making the Mark II a walking/flying phallic symbol.

"Not that the US Military's going to agree with my preference for a sleeker suit," Tony said, working with a 3D projected schematic of Rhodey's suit. "I can do style with substance."

Pepper's half-listening to Tony from the workshop couch. He's been talking to himself, Jarvis, the robots, and her for the last hour about all the unnecessary crap Hammer slapped onto _his _design. She's actually rather happy with how things are going between them. As far as she knows, nobody has caught on to the fact that she and Tony are romantically involved, and she can see how happy Tony is when she's with him, just the two of them.

When Stark Industries isn't keeping her busy, she spends most nights with Tony. They hardly ever go out because Tony's too well known in the area, so they're at his house most of the time. Pepper enjoys evenings like this, where they're together, but comfortable doing their own things at the same time. Tony can manage on his own, without a human assistant, as long as she and Jarvis manage his calendar. She wonders if he acted more helpless than he actually was in order to keep her around more than actually necessary.

Most of the time, she worked while he did, but sometimes she pretended to read something on her screen while observing him instead. There was something about watching Tony while he was in his element in the workshop, bickering with Jarvis and belittling the robots she knew he would be lost without. She wishes she could know what it's like to have his brains and be able to make those innovative leaps of thought like he can. Yes, smart is sexy, especially in Tony Stark. Something about watching his hands while he worked, seeing how he manipulated the floating wire frames in the air, was hypnotic.

She could watch him for hours while he did this, except his ego really is ridiculous enough already. However, she thinks he knows when she's watching. It's hard to tell if those little smirks of his are from figuring something out, or knowing that Pepper Potts can't get enough of him.

There were times she fell asleep on the couch as Tony worked late into the night. Before they got involved, once he got his teeth into a project, he could get lost in it for days. Now, she knows he'll stop working in the wee hours of the morning eventually, and pick her up to bring her to bed and tuck himself around her. She's taken care of him for so long and he seems to like returning the favor.

Tony looks over to the couch, thinking he'll catch Pepper sneakily watching him. It's funny; he's had years of women staring at him because of his fame and fortune, and (let's face it) good looks. He took it for granted, always expecting that everyone would be looking at him, but he finds that the only time he really cares is when Pepper is looking at him.

Pepper is asleep, head pillowed on one arm, wearing one of his shirts and a pair of shorts (to his disappointment). Tony glances at the time, just after 1:00 a.m. He snaps his fingers to shut down the projections and just stands there, looking at Pepper for a moment.

_Don't waste your life, Stark. _He'll never forget Yinsen's last words. You might say he's been living by them ever since he left Afghanistan. Perhaps he plunged into his new life a little hastily and haphazardly. He didn't consider all the consequences of becoming Iron Man before that split-second decision to announce it at that fateful press conference. As he scoops up Pepper so they can go to bed, she sleepily mumbles while burrowing into his chest and he knows that he's really not wasting his life anymore. A little later, when he spoons her, he tucks his face against her neck, breathing deeply and he's completely content. He has his one thing that he really needs here in his arms, and everything else is a bonus.

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**Next chapter will have more funny, I promise. Thanks for reading/reviewing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay - we were away for part of the weekend.**

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Tony is scheduled to work on the final adjustments to Rhodey's suit at Edwards Air Force Base. He'll suit up as Iron Man, his first time since New York, and observe while Rhodey takes War Machine through its paces. Tony's trying not to giggle in that maniacal way he does sometimes when he's really excited. Pepper tries not to think of it as a play date for Rhodey and Tony.

"I wanted to be petty and leave out the urine filtration system, but I wanted to show the US Military that I can be the better man," Tony said over breakfast. He and Pepper are having half burnt omelettes. Tony is determined to prove Pepper wrong, that he can, in fact, make an omelette. How is it possible that something can be burnt and undercooked at the same time? He can make an arc reactor in a cave and rediscover a new element; surely an omelette is achievable. At least today's didn't take three hours to make.

"And maybe slightly because Rhodey is your best friend and you don't want him to pee all over himself in the suit?" Pepper asked.

Tony actually pauses to think and responds, "No, that didn't come into the equation. Everything is about me." She gives him a look, and he just smiles in response.

Pepper follows him downstairs to say goodbye to him. Tony has plans to spend the better part of the day working with Rhodey, so they can work in both day and night environments. Before the Ivan Vanko incidents, she sometimes saw him depart for a mission, but was always there for his return. She had enough sway with Jarvis to tell him to contact her when Tony was on the way home.

As Tony steps onto the gantry to put on the suit, Pepper can't tear her eyes away. She's amazed every time she watches him become Iron Man because the suit is undeniably cool. Apart from the suit, watching Tony's demeanor change as more parts are secured is fascinating. Where five minutes ago, she would have a joking, carefree, innuendo-spouting Tony, she'd suddenly be facing a completely serious... Iron Man. That's when she'd start to worry, thinking that he might die before he finds out how she truly feels.

The only exception to this was the time he was balking at making his entrance flight into the Stark Expo. She was so aggravated by his insistence to abort the mission. Now that she knows he was already dying of palladium poisoning, she's a _little _more understanding of why he was acting that way.

"Give me a smooch, I might not make it back," Tony said. She rolled her eyes, knowing that he was repeating his words from the night when he was preparing to jump out of the cargo jet to head down to the opening ceremony. It was a shame he was leaving from the Malibu house. There was no possibility of throwing his helmet out of a plane this time

However, she did step up, thankful for her high heels, and kissed Tony extremely thoroughly. She's a woman in the 21st century with her very own knight in shining armor. She felt one of his gauntlets at her waist; he was always so careful about holding her when he was in the suit. When he took control of the kiss, she happily gave way.

She hardly noticed when he stepped out of the suit, except for the fact that he was pushing her over to the couch.

"What the..." Pepper started.

"The suit gets a little uncomfortable when you're kissing me like that, Potts," Tony said in between kisses. "There's not exactly a lot of give in that area." She starts laughing when she sees the look on his face.

"Isn't Rhodey expecting you?" she asked, pulling his shirt off.

"He can wait."

_Later..._

"What is wrong with you?" Rhodey exclaimed at Tony when he flew into base. "Do you have any idea how many people are here waiting?"

"Waiting on you now," Tony replied, wondering if Rhodey could hear the smug grin on his face.

Tony is not the only one who's late as a result of their quickie. Pepper hopes that no one can read it on her face though. As she enters the Stark Industries main building, she stops short at the sight of a familiar man in a sharp, but understated suit.

"Agent Coulson, how may I help you?"

"Miss Potts, I've been out of town taking care of business, and wanted to speak with you about recent events," he said, standing and shaking her proffered hand.

"Yes, how was New Mexico?" she asked, leading him to her office. "I have some time this morning before my first appointment."

Coulson looked a little surprised that she knew where he'd been. "Mr. Stark told you where I was going?"

"Whether you tell him something is secret doesn't matter, at least when it comes to me," Pepper explained.

"That is unexpected," he said.

"Things have changed," she said, taking a seat behind her desk. When she looks at her perpetual motion piece that annoys Tony so much, she smiles. "If you've come here to ask me what Tony's doing or what he's willing to do for you, I'm not telling you anything. It's not mine to tell."

"Well then," Coulson said, "I'll speak with Mr. Stark another time then." He got up to leave.

"Agent Coulson, why don't you stay for a bit longer?" Pepper asked. While she wouldn't spy on Tony for SHIELD, she still liked Coulson. He had helped Tony and her out before. "I'm starving and my assistant is bringing breakfast shortly."

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**I wanted to fill in how Pepper became more friendly with Coulson, but still protect Tony in her own way. I'm off to watch Star Trek! Thanks again for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Just filling in a little story gap about Avengers and Coulson's cellist and seeing how Tony behaves when he and Pepper have to go out. Thanks and hello to new followers!**

**Note 5/22: Also thanks to anonymous guest reviewer for pointing out that I had left out the scene transition line in the middle. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused by leaving it out between the scenes. **

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"Why are we going to see the LA Philharmonic?" Tony asked.

They're going to see the Philharmonic because she likes the music and getting dressed up to go out with Tony. Also, Phil (she said at breakfast that it seemed silly to keep calling him Agent Coulson) has a thing for one of the cellists. Since he has to see Tony for a brief meeting, she figured he should at least get a reward for dealing with the inevitable Stark snark.

"It's opening night and Stark Industries is a staunch supporter of the arts," Pepper said, putting the finishing touches on her hair, which is pinned in a low chignon. Tony stepped up behind her, still in that ridiculous robe of his, and kissed the back of her neck. "Do not even think about undoing my hair."

Unfortunate, as that's exactly what he was thinking. "I don't like it when your hair is up."

All joking aside, he likes watching her get ready to go out. He likes seeing her sure fingers twist her red-gold hair up and pluck the hair pins she's got from between her lips and secure the knot. It's partially why he's not ready yet.

How is it possible he saw this woman for almost every day for ten years and not find every other woman a pale substitute? Is that why he now finds the women throwing themselves at him rather boring and/or annoying?

She still has her own place for appearances and it would be odd for her to be staying here if he were away on business, while maintaining the idea that they're just friends.

The easy thing to do would be to live together, but he knows it's too soon. While he did seem to give off the idea that he didn't take Stark Industries seriously, he's never taken it as seriously as he does now. It's not only his name behind it, but Pepper's as well. Therefore, she needs to be firmly established as CEO before they go public with their relationship. He doesn't want her to deal with press saying she only got the job because she was sleeping with him.

It's okay. He likes it just being just her and him right now. There's something about being with a woman who challenges you every day, and loves you even though she's seen the worst of you. He knows she hasn't said the words exactly, but he knows she loves him. There's no way she'd put up with him otherwise.

Pepper turns and grasps the lapels of his robe. "You need to get dressed now. I'll wear my hair down for the Firefighter's Benefit." He's surprised to find that it's almost a year since he's become Iron Man.

"I was thinking we could stay in tonight," he said, running a finger softly along the neckline of the black dress she was wearing. It isn't an overtly provocative dress, but something about the way it frames her neck and shoulders is driving Tony crazy. Or it could be the fact that they haven't seen much of each other in person recently. Aside from finishing up the fine tuning for Rhodey's suit, he's been working on the arc reactor for Stark Tower and Pepper's been busy taking meetings on the East Coast.

"Tell you what," Pepper said, going into to Tony's closet to select a tuxedo. "If you stop stalling, I'll stay here for the whole weekend." He walked over to her, a serious look on his face. He stopped just a few inches from her and took the hanger from her hand. He doesn't care which tuxedo she selected. She could put him in lederhosen and he'd wear it.

"That is an acceptable agreement, but I would like to amend it so that you are not allowed to wear clothes."

"Not okay," Pepper said.

"Then I won't wear clothes," Tony said, sneaking a kiss in quickly before walking back to the bedroom.

She knows better than to say anything to the contrary, because it'll just encourage him.

_At the concert hall...  
_

Tony finds he enjoys being out with Pepper. Rather, he enjoys trying to make her blush. He doesn't do anything obvious, of course. Touching her fingers briefly as she hands him a program (he really doesn't like anyone to hand him anything, but he'll make an exception for her). A fingertip slowly dragged along the backs of her shoulders makes her shiver a little. And one of his favorites: his thumb subtly stroking her while his hand is at the small of her back as he moves her through the concertgoers. He knows she likes it because she doesn't give him her warning glare. She always meets his eye, even if it's just a moment, and she smiles.

At intermission, Pepper excuses herself to use the restroom while Tony goes off in search of champagne. He hasn't had much to drink since his disastrous birthday party, but he likes having champagne with Pepper. He's surprised when he returns.

"Mr. Stark, how are you?" Agent Coulson said from his seat in their box.

"Coulson," he acknowledges, setting the glasses down. "How was the Land of Enchantment?"

"Enchanting," Agent Coulson replies, his facial expression holding steady as always. Tony thinks the only time Coulson has looked vaguely bothered was when he used that Captain America prototype shield as a shim for his accelerator coil. Tony doesn't see what the big deal was; the shield was an antique, and not in a good way.

"SHIELD certainly doesn't waste time calling in the consultant," Tony said. "By the way, tell Fury I want a refund. Stern stabbed me."

"I'm here to inform you that the Avengers Initiative is on hold indefinitely," Coulson said, getting up. "If it changes, I'll be in contact with you."

"Huh," Tony said, shaking Coulson's hand. "I still want a refund from Fury. Get out of here before Pepper gets back."

Coulson pauses before leaving the box. "You're a lucky man to have her, Mr. Stark."

Tony is surprised for the second time since he went to get drinks. It's the first time Coulson has ever voiced an opinion outside of his professional (if you can call it that) relationship with him.

"I know that and you should keep it to yourself unless you want me to tase you until you drool into the carpet," Tony said.

"You can try," Coulson said as he exited.

* * *

**I think I want to do another very Tony/Pepper chapter again next.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Time for Tony to learn a little about how jealous Pepper can get.**

* * *

"What's with that look on your face?" Pepper asked when she returned to the box. She had seen the unmistakably nondescript retreating form of Phil as she approached.

"I think I was officially kicked out of the Avengers Initiative before it really began," Tony said, handing her a glass of champagne and tapping his glass against it with a wry smile.

"Are you disappointed?" she asked. She had mixed feelings about this news. She understands Tony's current need to be Iron Man, but she'll always worry for his safety. While she's pretty sure he'd stop doing it if she asked, she also knows she couldn't make that demand of him.

"The funny thing is, I'm not sure how I feel about it," Tony said, tapping his RT through his shirt, as he did when he was working something out in his head. He smiled at her. "Let's forget about it for now. You're worrying. I can see it in that crinkle you get between your eyebrows." He put a hand on her arm and squeezed it to reassure her.

_Later..._

Pepper has commandeered his dress shirt from their evening out. He notices that she does this quite often and her expression always relaxes as soon as she puts one on.

He's curious. While she sits in bed with her legs tucked up under her, scrolling through messages on her phone, he sidles up close to her, propping his chin on her shoulder. He's been doing this more and more over the last several months, invading her personal space. She never fussed about it because those brief moments made her heart leap, no matter how much grease was on his clothes, or how sweaty he was, like that time before Natalie/Natasha kicked Happy's butt in Tony's gym.

"What do you want, Tony?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'm fascinated by your fascination with my shirts, not that I have any problem with you wearing them," he said. "You don't do it just to turn me on, as pretty much anything you wear does that."

"I stole one of them from your closet when you were gone," she said, referring to his time in captivity. "It helped me when I thought I'd never see you again. And I didn't want to that reporter to be the last woman who wore one of your shirts. God, that sounds so pathetic when I say it out loud. It doesn't even make sense to me now." She presses a hand to her eyes. This is why she doesn't talk to Tony about her feelings.

Silence.

Tony's still on his quest to learn everything Pepper Potts, and this was not what he was expecting when he asked about his shirts. He was expecting an answer along the lines of: "I like the smell of your sexy cologne."

"You really missed me," Tony said, pulling her hand away from those clear blue eyes. What a wondrous thing to finally know. He'd missed her too when he was trapped in that cave, those shy smiles of hers and the glint of red-gold hair.

"Of course," she said. "Why do you think I was crying when I saw you walk off that plane?"

"You said you didn't like job hunting!" he said.

"You are stunningly imperceptive sometimes," she said, patting his hand.

"You could've just slept in my bed," Tony said. "I wouldn't have minded. I certainly would've liked the idea of you keeping my bed warm."

"Right after what you and the reporter did in it? Not to mention the other bimbos? No thanks," she said, glaring at him. He winced. "I had your mattress burned when we came back from the Expo. There was no way I was sleeping on your old one." Yes, this is a problem with loving a woman who has seen the worst of you. She knows your history.

"I'm back now, so why the shirts still?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her hair, which is now down. He'd removed the pins from her chignon as soon as they got into the house.

"They smell like you," she said. "I usually take one with me when I'm not going to be with you. I like sleeping in them because it feels like you're surrounding me, like you're home." She turned so that his arms could wrap around her and she could press her nose against his neck, breathing deeply. One of her arms was trapped between them, her hand resting against his RT.

"Pepper Potts is a jealous, possessive little thing," Tony said, amused. "She wants no other woman anywhere near my shirts, let alone my bed and person. She thinks about me all the time."

"I don't know about that," she said, grumbling. "You've been talking all about me. It's my turn to ask a question."

"Because everything should always be about me," he said. She gave him a look. "What? It's on my assessment. Textbook narcissist."

"That doesn't mean you should wallow in it," she said, tugging on his hair. "Why are you upset about the Avengers Initiative?"

"They rejected me again," he said. "Aside from you, nobody's ever rejected me so many times!"

She rolled her eyes. Typical.

* * *

**I just picked up a new project at work, so I think I won't be able to update as frequently over the next several days :(**


	9. Chapter 9

**I managed to cram in an update! This is for the readers who wanted more texting and more jealous Tony.  
**

* * *

Tony is away in New York for a few days to meet with engineers about refitting the former MetLife building with the new arc reactor that will be the focal point of the new Stark Tower. Although if Tony gets his way, and he usually does, it won't be the only new part of the building. He's got plans, and they're pretty amazing.

He wishes Pepper were able to make the brief trip out with him, but she takes her responsibilities seriously at Stark Industries. Of course, being across the country from her doesn't mean he can't pester her.

He texted her: **You sleeping in my shirt tonight? **

She responded quickly: **You know the answer to that question. **

He replied: **I like the answer every time. **

When he read her response, he laughed.

**Yes, I'm wearing your shirt tonight. Does that satisfy your crazy possessive self? May I go back to running our company now?**

He quickly wrote back: **How is it possible for you to text your eyes rolling? **

**Shut up.**

Tony thinks it's time to cut this trip short and go home.

When he arrives back in LA, half a day earlier than expected, he decides to surprise Pepper by waiting for her at her place. He's never actually been inside her home, and since they've gotten involved, they spend their time together at his house.

He's able to get into her condo easily, although probably slightly illegally. Pepper would probably say he shouldn't be using Jarvis for breaking and entering, but he was hoping the grand gesture of this surprise would gloss over that minor detail.

The first thing Tony thinks when stepping inside Pepper's home is how _Pepper_ the place feels. He's not surprised that her home decor leans heavily to the modern style, but manages to inject some softness that isn't in his severely modern home. The rooms are in a pale, neutral palette. He doesn't go through any of her closets or drawers, but he notices everything.

She has picture frames set on her bookshelves. There are pictures of Pepper and an older woman who must be her mother. He's pleased to find a picture of the two of them, pre-kissing days, from some official event. She used to wear her hair wavier back then. Tucked out of the way, he finds a picture of Pepper and some guy. _Wait a second - that's Timothy Michael! _Tony narrows his eyes and stares at the normal looking guy with chestnut colored hair. He hasn't forgotten that Tim wanted to get back together with Pepper. Whether it's because he really wanted her back, or saw dating the CEO of Stark Industries as a way to move up in the world, Tony didn't care.

"This isn't over yet, Tim," he says to the picture, placing the frame face down and peering at the books. It might surprise people to find that he does worry that Pepper will realize what she's gotten herself into, being involved with him. Maybe she'd be happier with some guy who doesn't fly around in a metal suit in explosive acts of heroism. This boring guy with two first names, for example.

When Pepper comes home after work, she sees Tony lying on her couch, intently reading one of her books – a romance novel. And there's a pile of them on the table in front of him. While she is elated to find him back from New York early, she's alarmed to find him discovering another of her guilty pleasures.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. He's wearing a soft leather jacket over one of his band t-shirts, dark jeans, and a pair of sneakers and he should seem out of place in her living room, but he's not.

"I missed you so I finished up with the engineering team early and flew myself back," he said, being completely honest. He put the book down and grinned at her. "I've been keeping busy while waiting for you because you know what happens when I get bored."

Yes, she does know what happens when Tony Stark gets bored, or is left unsupervised for too long. She's spent too many years cleaning up his PR messes to ever forget. At least lately, he funnels his enthusiasm into the next Iron Man suit, the Stark Tower project, or omelettes.

"So this is what it really takes to motivate Tony Stark," she said, sitting on the coffee table to place a hand on his neck and kiss him hello. "And I'm not sure you should be using the suit for personal reasons."

"Are you really going to complain?" He gives her a very thorough kiss hello that makes him feel normal for the first time since he saw that picture of her and Tim.

"I'm noticing something of a common theme in these books," Tony said.

"Oh? Have you read all of them?" she asked, slipping her heels off.

"No, I had Jarvis provide summaries for me," he said. "All the heroes are initially described as handsome, rich bachelors who happen to be dissolute libertines who spend their free time drinking, gambling, and womanizing, but have a deep-down code of honor. However, they change everything when they fall in love with a woman who makes them want to be better men." He watches Pepper's cheeks turn pink.

"Do you know what this means?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid to find out what you think this means," she said, looking up at the ceiling. She never expected to discuss the idea of reformed rakes with a man who happened to be one.

"You don't need these anymore," he said, shoving all the books off the table. "You've got me. I'm _the_ stereotypical romantic hero. You're living the dream, baby."

She laughs, because he's actually right.

* * *

******I read too many historical romances, and part of the reason I love Pepperony so much is because Tony is a modern-day reformed rake.**

**Timothy Michael is returning soon...**


	10. Chapter 10

**My job is taking up almost all my free time, so sorry for the shorter update than normal. This is something I neglected to address in the last chapter since Tony mentions love. Did you ever notice how Tony and Pepper aren't a couple that says "I love you"?**

* * *

Pepper thinks Tony's inability to cook an omelette comes from the lack of complicated equipment involved. As it'll be difficult to have a secret second meal if he's staying with her, she decides to throw a quick dinner together, for the sake of their hunger. She wonders if he'd be nuts for grilling like most men, but then visions of flaming burgers and Dummy wielding a fire extinguisher flash before her eyes, and she decides to keep the idea to herself.

"So you're in love with me?" she asks. They've just finished dinner and she's sitting at the end of the couch. Tony has decided he likes lying on the couch so he's using her lap as a pillow. He's working using his glass phone, making notes on the tower. She's reading what Tony calls her last romance novel while playing with his hair. He was magnanimous enough to allow her to finish the one she was in the middle of reading.

He glances up at her in reaction to the question and goes back to looking at the glass display. "I don't see how there is any question about that," he answers.

"I suppose I knew," she says. "It's just nice to know it isn't just in my head."

It's not that she was insecure. Tony was the insecure one in their relationship, while most people would think that it's the other way around. She knows that loving him will never be conventional and it is beyond the understanding of most people.

"Pep, the word 'love' isn't enough for me," he says. He's still staring at the glass in his hand, but he's not actually doing anything. It's something for his eyes to focus on while he verbalizes the feelings he's never had to explain. "Everyone else loves. What we have is more than that. When I say you complete me, and that I need you, I mean it. Literally."

She's kind of glad he's not looking at her because her eyes are tearing up. Tony doesn't open up often about his feelings this honestly, even for her. She doesn't want the tears to make him change the subject.

"I'll always need you and I'm incomplete without you. There's no point to all that I do if you're not there," he says, completely serious.

"I love you too," she responds, placing a hand on his chest, over his RT. "And I need you too."

"You do?" he finally looks up at her. She sees that vulnerability in his brown eyes, knowing that she's the only person who can put it there. He knows that if he weren't around anymore, she could go on. She doesn't need an Iron Man suit to be the strongest person he knows. It's viscerally fulfilling for him to know that this woman needs him too.

"Why else did I stick around all those years?" she says, flicking her fingers against his forehead. "The times I thought about quitting, I couldn't bring myself to follow through with it."

"It's because you knew I needed the last eight digits of my social security number," he says. "And you can't get enough of my butt."

"It is pretty spectacular," she agrees. It _is_ spectacular, after all.

The next morning, she's awakened by faint noise in her kitchen. She figures Tony is continuing on his quest to cook an omelette and heads to the bathroom to get ready for work. When she's dressed, she heads to the kitchen, where Tony is standing with his back to her, barefoot. He's wearing his jeans, with his shirt thrown over one shoulder. When he hears her, he turns around, handing her a cup of coffee. The sight of him like this in her kitchen makes her blush. It's not like she'd never imagined it before. He grins, as though he can read her mind.

"Good morning, Miss Potts," he says softly, with that smile he only smiles when he's with her, and their eyes meet as she takes a sip. He doesn't have to say anything else to show her how much he loves her.

* * *

**In response to some readers - Yes, Timothy will be reappearing soon.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Finally back after what felt like the longest freelance project ever! Sorry this update is short; I didn't have much time to write. Tomorrow will see the return of Timothy.**

* * *

Tony is happy to be back in his gym now that it's been restored after the birthday-party-that-shall-never-be-mentioned-again . It took some convincing to get Happy back in the ring after Natalie/Natasha trounced him soundly. Happy still gets a panicked look on his face whenever Tony mentions his triple imposter assistant. When Tony asked him what the problem was, Happy muttered something about the hottest scary person he'd ever met.

Pepper is sitting in the chair Tony always thinks of as hers. She's still dressed for the office, having arrived with Happy earlier, and on the phone. He's tempted to go over there and sit right up against her, but he's having too much fun in the ring. Happy is more aggressive than usual, most likely working out some issues from the last time he was taken down... by a girl. Being told that Natalie was really a secret agent/assassin doesn't make Happy feel any better.

"Are you not looking at me on purpose?" he calls over to Pepper while sparring with Happy. Happy rolls his eyes. Tony is starting to notice how often that happens around him. Pepper responds to that by giving him a flat stare and Happy cuffs him on the side of the head. When Happy sees the look on his face in response, he jumps backward.

"No dirty boxing!" Happy yells as Tony comes after him with a shout. Tony figures Happy's had enough shaking up in recent times, so he sticks to the rules, but following the rules doesn't mean you still can't kick ass.

Later, as Happy drags himself to the shower, Tony leans on the ropes to talk to Pepper. She had moved on from phone calls to the laptop.

"So should I pick you up for the benefit thing?" Tony asks her. "I can pick you up, you know, in a capacity that doesn't involve saving you from exploding robots." She smiles at him, setting the laptop aside.

"You know, I think you never really needed me to tell you when to be anywhere," Pepper said, knowing that she hadn't mentioned the upcoming benefit to him recently. "And no, I don't think it's a good idea for me to arrive with you. Apart from what people would say about us arriving together in your personal vehicle at such an event, I'm still scarred from the last time you drove me somewhere."

"Come on, Pep," he said. "I wasn't going that fast."

"Then I shudder to think what you think is going fast," she said.

"I can make you an Iron Pepper suit and you can find out," he said, eyebrows waggling. He ducks under the ropes and jumps down to the floor.

"No," she said firmly. "One Stark Industries executive flying around in an Iron Man suit is enough for the world."

"Why have one when two is better?" he continued. While she thinks he's joking, he's actually serious about getting her in a suit. It might be handy someday. He's also hoping that she doesn't bring up those Maxim cover girl twins from what feels like a million years ago. He steps up to where she's sitting and leans over her, placing his hands on either side of her on the back of the chair. "Just saying that I'm not ruling out an Iron Pepper."

"Fine, you can think about it all you want," she said, looking up at him. "I'll meet you at the benefit. I even promise to wear my hair down, just the way you like." He presses his sweaty forehead to hers and she pulls his head down for a kiss. She finds she doesn't mind him so close when he's all sweaty.

"Oh, come on!" Happy says from the other side of the room, freshly showered and changed. "I don't need to see this."

"You've definitely seen far worse," Tony said. "I'll make you feel better by leaving to take a shower with Pepper." He pulls his red-faced girlfriend up to her feet and leaves Happy to his disgusted reaction.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for reading and putting up with the delays :)**

* * *

Pepper is getting dressed for Tony's annual Firefighters' Family Fund benefit at her place. Happy will be driving her to the event, leaving Tony to make a flamboyant entrance in his car. Her phone chimes.

**I need you to tie my tie.**

She smiles, because she likes these obvious attempts from Tony to get her attention. She's always liked helping him with his ties and jackets. It was an excuse to be close to him, fingers brushing the ends of his hair as she reached around to adjust his collar, breathe in his scent, and feel the warmth from his body, all without worrying that she was overstepping. It turns out she's the only person he's ever asked to tie his ties.

Her phone chimes again.

**Are you ignoring me?**

She sighs and types back, **Just because someone doesn't respond within 3 seconds to your text doesn't mean they're ignoring you. And you can tie your own bowtie.**

**Noted. I expect you to untie it later, Miss Potts. Save me a dance. **

Pepper goes back to the final touches on her hair. As promised, it's down, and curled so it's wavy. She'd been wearing her hair straight on a daily basis because it makes her appear more businesslike. She thinks Tony will appreciate the change.

When she goes out to the car, Happy's eyes widen. "You look great, boss," he said, opening the door. "I think Tony's tongue is going to fall out."

"Thank you, Happy," she said, settling herself in the backseat. She can understand Happy's reaction. When he sees her, she's usually wearing some variation of black or white business attire, hair neat and professional. Tonight, she's wearing her hair swept over the front of one shoulder, contrasting against the rich emerald green of her dress.

Pepper manages to escape the red carpet quickly. As CEO, she's less conspicuous than Tony was when he held the position, and she's definitely okay with that. She greets several people as she walks into the ballroom, and as soon as she finishes with the pleasantries, she steps away, looking for Tony. Of course, she was probably wasting her time, as he'd probably be making a fashionably late entrance.

That's why she was so surprised by the smooth voice in her ear saying, "One martini, extra dry, extra olives."

"I see you managed just fine with your tie," Pepper said, accepting the glass from Tony. He managed more than fine. While Tony enjoyed all things modern, he favored the classic black tie tuxedo. To her, Tony looked good in any suit, metal or cloth. "Although your drink delivery time is terrible. I've been waiting a year for this martini."

"I'll stick to my day job," he reassured her, running a hand down her arm. "You look amazing..."

"Pepper! There you are!" someone said, interrupting him.

"Timothy?!" Pepper said, turning to greet her ex-boyfriend. She looked at Tony, who had a sly look on his face. She could see Tony sizing up Timothy in a single glance over the rim of his glass. "I didn't know you were attending tonight."

"I got a last-minute invitation," Timothy said. "I thought I'd come and see you."

"Tony, you remember Timothy Michael," Pepper said, "From the Christmas party a couple years ago." _He wouldn't have, but yes, he absolutely did, _she thinks, looking at Tony as he absently drums his fingers on his chest, over his RT.

"Tim, how've you been?" Tony asked. "I'm a little confused. Do you not have a last name?" He's staring at Tim with that unnerving look he uses on people when he wants to intimidate them with his... Tony Stark-ness. Pepper's the only one it never works on. He's a little annoyed about the fact that Tim calls her "Pepper." Only people she's really close to should be calling her that.

"Actually, it's Timothy," the man with two first names corrected. "Michael is my last name."

Pepper is giving Tony her death stare while Tim stays oblivious.

"Do you happen to have a middle name?" Tony asked, folding his hands together and tapping his index fingers together.

"I don't see how that's relevant to anything," Pepper cuts in.

"It's Ian," Timothy answers, his eyes bouncing from Tony to Pepper and back again.

"Really?" Tony said, trying to keep the smile on his face. Tim's initials spell "TIM." He doesn't miss the laugh that Pepper turns into a cough.

"So, you and Pepper are dating? To be honest, you weren't what I was expecting."

Timothy looked confused while Pepper wished they weren't standing in the middle of a party because she'd give anything to jam a heel into Tony's foot.

"I heard that Pepper was seeing someone who was crazy about her," Tony continued, leaning a little closer to Timothy. "Crazy jealous. He's military, top clearance levels, and can kill a man with his pinky. In fact, she's told me several times that he doesn't think I deserve to have Pepper in my life. Me! I'm Iron Man!"

"Uhh," Timothy responds, "Pepper, would you like to dance?" She agrees and places her hand in Tim's, giving Tony a (she hopes) reassuring smile. Timothy looks glad to have escaped Tony.

Tony mouths back to her _He has three first names _and smirks.


	13. Chapter 13

**It's a big chapter! Thanks for reading :)**

* * *

She notices that Timothy keeps glancing around as they dance. When she asks if he's all right, he says, "He's watching you."

"Is it that obvious?" she asks.

"More than usual," he says, stopping his scanning of the room to look at her.

"Usual?" she says, surprised.

"He's always watched you," Timothy says. "I always thought you had a thing for you. Your new boyfriend will probably find out for himself. It was tough to compete with Tony Stark when he was your boss; it'd be impossible if he were actually serious about you."

"Probably," Pepper said, smiling a little. Timothy, while boring, was never dumb.

Tony, from where he's standing, is wondering why Pepper's smiling. Perhaps his decision to intimidate TIM in person wasn't such a good idea.

"So Tim, may I introduce you to my general factotum, Happy Hogan?" Tony says when Timothy and Pepper return, pulling Happy over from his position usually several steps away as bodyguard. "He'd love to talk with you about... what is it you do?"

"Tax law," Timothy supplied. Happy gives Tony a dirty look and is about to say something, but Tony quickly ushers Pepper onto the dance floor.

"What's going on, Tony?" It's funny how two men dancing with her in such a short time were such different experiences. With Timothy, it was comfortable and zero sparks, but the moment Tony took her into his arms, she became hyper-aware of everything that had to do with him. His hand at her waist, fingers curving to her lower back, felt like a brand through the fabric of her dress.

"Curiosity," he replied in that offhand tone he uses when he's baffled that everyone doesn't see it the way he does.

"What? It's not raging jealousy?" She's surprised.

"Not all jealousy. I got to see what normal looks like, despite the whole three first names thing he's got going on," Tony answered.

"I'm not normal?" she, asked, slightly offended.

"Pep, of course you're not normal," he said, squeezing her hand as they continued dancing. He leans in closer. "You're with me despite everything. Danger, my past philandering, the court of public opinion, to name a few. Maybe 'normal' would be better for you."

She's quiet in response. Tony worries he's given her too much to think about. Too much truth. He's not that great at this boyfriend stuff. Then again, he's never had to be.

He doesn't get to continue their conversation, unfortunately. A member of the board has cut in on their dance and he steps aside.

_A little later..._

It takes some time before he manages to pull Pepper away from socializing. He does the bare minimum of talking and his reputation of being the eccentric genius billionaire who blows stuff up excuses a lot of his near-rudeness.

She looks phenomenal tonight, practically glowing in that dress. Her hair looks richer contrasted against her pale skin and the emerald silk. Is she trying to kill him? It's elegant and sexy at the same time, strapless to expose the neck, shoulders, and that spot on her collarbone he loves to taste. He thought he was going to drop her martini when he saw the knee-length slit on the side of the dress that exposed a length of amazing leg. He thinks that if the cut went an inch higher, he would've bundled her up and hustled her out of the party before Timothy saw her. Rather, before any man saw her.

He's never had to be a possessive guy before. The depth of these feelings shocks him sometimes. In the interest of discretion, he has Happy bring a note to Pepper telling her to meet him on the roof.

Tony leans against the wall, the same place they stood at a year ago. He wonders what it would've been like if they'd kissed then. Would he have done everything he'd done when he was dying of palladium poisoning?

The normally busy roof is empty. She suspects Tony has something to do with that. She folds her arms across her chest. "Why did you send an invitation to Timothy?"

"I didn't personally do that," he said, squinting a little as he pretends to think. "Some secretary took care of it."

"You were the one who told them to do it," she said, pointing a finger at him.

He catches her hand in his. "Let's not argue about semantics. You won't like it when I win."

"Whatever. Why did you want me to come up here?" She tries to pull her hand out of his, but he hangs on.

"I thought that Tim might be better for you than me," Tony said quickly. "He's normal, doesn't fly around, and get blown up. And you don't have to keep him a dirty secret. But when I saw him all normal, despite three first names, I wasn't okay with it. I'm going to pull the selfish card again. And he's not allowed to call you Pepper."

She looks surprised at his little speech, but then collects herself. He loves watching the way she changes gears like that.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked him, finally yanking her hand out of his, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Of course not! I couldn't be in a relationship with someone who wasn't smart," he said. He hopes she doesn't respond with some quip about his previous one-night stands and their IQ scores.

"I'm fully aware of what I'm getting myself into. I know that loving you is the most irresponsible thing I've ever done, but it's what makes me happy." She frames his face in her hands, stroking his goatee with her thumbs a moment before kissing him once, briefly. When she pulls away, she sees that soft look in his eyes. "Apparently, my irresponsibility is making you happy too."

He smiles and says, "Miss Potts, you will find that I will always enjoy any incidents of your irresponsibility as pertains to myself."

"According to you, I'm not normal, so why would I want a normal guy, regardless of the number of first names he may have?" she said. "I'm not going anywhere. If I haven't left yet when you were at your worst, I'm certainly not going to now." She finds their relationship amusing. Sometimes, it feels like they've been a couple forever, but at times like these, it feels like they're at the beginning of a courtship.

He pulls her to his side, an arm around her shoulders. "Did you ever notice we spend a lot of time on rooftops having conversations that change everything?" he asks, his chin resting on her head.

"It's because we have to hide away from my crazy jealous possessive boyfriend," she said, poking him in the stomach. "Apparently, he's remarkably talented, and he's got a homicidal pinky finger."

"I could kill someone with my pinky," Tony insists. He notes to himself that it would be good to have a future suit with a weapon built into the pinky. He feels Pepper's hand on his back under his jacket and remembers what he came up here to do. "So I also wanted to come up here for another reason."

"Do you ever have reasons for what you do?" Pepper said. "I feel like they're usually impulse-" She doesn't get to finish because Tony has pulled her to him and is kissing her intensely. He's a man who can think of many things at once, but when he focuses on just one thing, he's very impressive.

When he pulls his face back a couple inches, she asks, "What was that for?"

"It's what I should've done a year ago," he said. "And you've been tormenting me all night in that dress."

"You make it so easy to push your buttons," she said.

"But you love doing it," he said, leaning down to nuzzle her exposed neck and making her shiver. He moves down to her collarbone and her fingers dig into his hair. And while she's distracted, he reaches down and hooks her leg up over his. Who knows how irresponsibly he could make Pepper Potts behave if not for...

"Hey guys, Happy says he can't take any more talk about tax law - oh come on!" Rhodey interrupts them and turns around immediately. "It's worse than last time! Seriously, Tony! You're a billionaire, get a room!"

Pepper tries to step away, but Tony keeps a hand around her waist and grins at his friend. "I did take advantage of the fact that I'm filthy rich. Do you know how much I paid to get this area closed off in the middle of the party?"

* * *

**Hope that made some of you guys happy!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry, I was away for the weekend visiting family, so didn't have any time to write. I wanted to give Rhodey some more time other than walking in on Tony and Pepper. He deserves better.**

* * *

When Pepper and Rhodey return to the ballroom with Tony following behind a bit, Happy looks visibly relieved. While Pepper leaves for more socializing, Timothy sidles over to Tony.

"I know you're Iron Man and all, but if I were you, I'd be careful," he said to Tony.

"Huh?" Tony said, completely surprised by Tim.

"I think Rhodes is Pepper's secret boyfriend," he continues.

"Why would I care who Pepper's boyfriend is?" Tony responds, ignoring Happy's panicked facial expression. "He's probably a fantastic fellow, whoever he may be, underneath all the crazy possessiveness and homicidal digits."

"Because you've always wanted her, but for some dumb reason, never did anything about it," Timothy said. "You're the reason Pepper's boyfriends have never been around all that long, Mr. Stark. You always took priority over everyone for her. As both you and Mr. Rhodes have suits that can blow lots of things up, it could get ugly for the city, if the Stark Expo is an accurate gauge."

What is with everyone having an opinion lately? Tony gives a little laugh and shakes his head. "Pepper sure can pick 'em," he said. "Thanks, Tim."

"It's Timoth-"

"You really should drop that 'It's Timothy' thing," Tony said, shaking Tim's hand. "It makes you sound pretentious. Unless that's what you're going for."

"Thanks... I think," Tim says, "I'm heading out. It was interesting." Tim steps away and says a brief goodbye to Pepper, who's in conversation with another partygoer. She excuses herself shortly after the exchange and walks back to Tony.

"I thought you didn't like Tim," Pepper said. Tony smiles when he hears which name she uses and she gives him a tired look. "It's shorter to say his name that way!"

"I never said I didn't like him," Tony said. "I said he was boring and that I didn't trust him when he had two first names. Now that he has three first names, it's more an unfortunate burden Tim has to carry because of poor parental decisionmaking. He's an okay sort of guy, but he's still not allowed to call you Pepper."

"I'm glad you're done intimidating him," she said, about to head off again.

"I don't think I'll ever be done intimidating your ex-boyfriends," Tony said. "Maybe I should've invited all of them to the benefit. A clean sweep, so to speak."

"Then I am grateful for the restraint," she said, reaching out to straighten his bowtie and then walking off again.

Later, Tony sees her and Rhodey dancing and makes his way over when they step off the dance floor.

"Tim thinks you're dating Rhodey," he said.

"Wait - what?" the man in question sputtered.

"Based on what you said to him about my secret boyfriend, what did you expect?" Pepper asked, tilting her head a little.

"What secret boyfriend? I thought that was Tony," Rhodey asks, but to no effect, as Tony and Pepper are continuing their exchange as though he's not there.

"Maybe someone with more style than, let's say, someone with a suit epitomizing an erectile dysfunction drug?" Tony is drumming the fingers of one hand against the back of one hand and smirking.

Rhodey puffs up and hisses, "Stop insulting War Machine! You're still not over the fact that we had Justin Hammer weaponize the suit! You know what? The next time you two are on a roof about to rip each other's clothes off, I'm going to bring a bunch of reporters to watch!"

"You two need to back down before people start running out of here like they did at Tony's birthday party," Pepper chimed in.

"I'm not sure if Pepper will ever be okay with exhibitionism," Tony pondered, as though going over scenarios in his head, and ignoring Pepper's comment. "What do you say, Pep?"

"That's a definite never," Pepper said, walking away and leaving the two of them.

"Was she always so disrespectful?" Tony asked Rhodey, while enjoying the view of her walking away.

"Yes," Rhodey said. "You just notice it more because you aren't being stupid anymore about her."

"What is it with people lately insinuating that I'm stupid?" Tony asked.

"I didn't insinuate. I just said it," Rhodey quipped back at him.

Tony rolls his eyes, and suddenly realizes what Pepper must feel when she talks to him.

"Whatever. I'm a genius, definitely not stupid," Tony insisted. "Maybe I was a little thick in the head about realizing what was in front of me for so long, but I got there, in a meandering fashion."

"Thick in the head," Rhodey said, as though feeling the words out. "It probably results from you using too much hair product."

Tony shakes his head, chuckling, and smacks Rhodey on the shoulder. From across the room, Pepper smiles. It's not like she was _that_ worried about them blowing up the concert hall.


	15. Chapter 15

They were standing outside the hall at the end of the party. It was the first time Tony remembered staying to the end of one of these things. The last time, he'd left early because of what Christine Everhart had brought to his attention and was spurred to go on his first mission.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Tony asked Pepper. It's funny to him that the only woman he wants is also the only woman who isn't an automatic yes to his propositions. It's what's making him nervous about what he wants to ask her when they're back at his place.

"Of course," she said. "Happy will drive me."

"Race you, Happy?" Tony called over to him, several paces away. "We haven't had one in a while."

"No! Definitely no racing!" Pepper interjected before Happy could reply. "I would rather not die in a fiery car accident on the way home tonight."

"Are you insulting Happy's and my driving prowess?" Tony asked. "Because I will have you know that the last time I was in a car accident was not my fault. It was a crazy Russian. And the time before that, it was because I fell through a structurally unsound roof with a prototype suit. And Happy couldn't help his last wreck. He supposedly meant to hit said crazy Russian, although I still think the jury's out on that one."

"I think I'll go get the car," Happy said slowly, looking back and forth between Pepper and Tony, backing away.

"I don't see what he's so uncomfortable about," Tony muttered. "It's the truth, unless he wants to fess up that he really did mean to hit me with a Rolls Royce. I suppose that if I were to be hit by a car, a Rolls Royce isn't the worst option."

Pepper looks up at the sky, letting Tony ramble on. There's no point in trying to stop him. A breeze picks up and she shivers. When she notices that he's stopped talking, she feels the warmth of Tony's jacket settle over her shoulders. She closes her eyes a moment to enjoy the sensation of being cared for and then looks at him. He doesn't have a trademark Stark snark comment; he doesn't say anything, and just smiles at her.

They're off to the side, nobody around, and he breathes easily, appreciating the quiet and having her to himself again. He takes advantage of the privacy to press a kiss to her temple and brush a hand against the small of her back.

"I'll see you at home," he said softly, using a side staircase to go to his car. He would rather walk her to her car, but the few photographers left at this point would make assumptions beyond a chivalrous gesture and assign romantic reasons to his jacket keeping her warm. They'd right about those assumptions though. He likes having something of his wrapped around her when he can't be there.

_Later, back at Tony's..._

They're in bed, Pepper tucked in to her favorite spot against his side, her head resting on his chest. Tony's playing with her hair for a while when he starts talking. Usually it's Pepper who starts the (to him) unnecessarily serious pillow talk.

"I want you to live with me," he said. She lifts her head quickly and opens her mouth to speak, but he holds up a hand to stop her. "I know it's not the right time to live together here in California, but how about New York?"

"New York? What do you mean?" she asks, shrugging on his discarded dress shirt.

"Hey, why are you putting clothes on?" Tony asks, trying to keep her from buttoning it up while she bats his hand away.

"Excuse me if I'd rather not have a serious conversation while naked," she said, "unlike some people." She looked pointedly at him.

"Serious conversations are best had while in the nude," he said, perfectly serious. He moved to his side, propping his head in his hand while the other gestured to the rest of him.

"I disagree," she said primly, pulling the sheet over Tony's lower half. "I'm already dreading the next meeting I go to, where I won't be able to help myself imagining everyone naked."

"Why, Potts, you dirty girl," he grinned lasciviously. "Now you know I'll be extra attentive at meetings."

"Focus, Tony," she said, pushing some of his hair off his forehead, and pressing the tip of her index finger between his eyebrows.

"I want to take the top of Stark Tower for my new New York house, and I want it to be yours too. Maybe even by the time it's finished we can come out to the public with our relationship, but it'll be easier to keep it quiet there if it's still not the time."

"You've thought about this a lot," she said, considering his idea. It's actually not bad.

"I've done more than think," he said. "Jarvis, bring up the tower plans."

"Certainly, sir," the AI answered. The bedroom windows were lit up with schematics of the existing building, and with a flick of his fingers, Tony slides an addition on top of the roof.

"Wow," she said sarcastically, "That is...so understated and modest." She's not being entirely facetious in her comment. At least Tony was adding to the building, rather than ripping apart the top quarter.

"Can it with the attitude," he said, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close so he can kiss her. And he goes through the ideas he's worked out so far, including an Iron Man landing pad and assembly line style suit system. She makes some suggestions for what she'd like to see in their living quarters, and he says, "So you will?"

"Of course," she said, kissing him, as though there could be no doubt as to her answer.

He grins; he really wasn't sure she'd say yes. "Excellent. You won't regret it."

"When you say that I won't regret something, I usually wind up regretting it later," she said. "Now tell me why our addition to the tower needs a dozen floors?"

"I need space for my stuff," he said offhandedly. When she gives him her look, he continues, "It's still a work in progress. In a year, I'd hate to think I should've added more space, so I'm actually planning ahead."

"You know most people don't need this much space to live," she said, leaning over and tapping a finger against his RT.

"Most people aren't me," he answered, looking down her shirt (well, his shirt, technically). "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Statements like that are why I regret things later," she said, not stopping him as he begins unbuttoning the shirt.

"Serious conversation, adjourned," he said. "Clothing is now officially optional."

* * *

**Mwahaha, another chapter with text messaging during a meeting is called for, I think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I had a whole different chapter planned out, but this took over :)**

* * *

Tony's never had a problem waking up early in the morning. He simply chooses not to arrive on time at an appointment or meeting if he doesn't feel like it. When he's sharing a bed with Pepper, he likes to wake up earlier than her, even if it's just a few minutes. He enjoys looking at her, the way her hair spreads across the pillow, glowing in the morning light; the way her pert nose wrinkles in her sleep sometimes. On mornings when he doesn't wake her up with amorous intentions, he brings her coffee in bed. This happens to be one of those mornings. He drops a kiss to her bare shoulder and rolls out of bed, smiling when he sees her green dress from the previous night's benefit laid over a chair, and trots quickly downstairs to the kitchen. He supposes breakfast in bed might be in order, because she deserves the best, but he's still not much of a cook. He has tried programming Dummy and You to cook before, but as making a smoothie was beyond their dexterity, he gave up on that idea.

She's still sleeping when he enters the bedroom with their coffee and sets the mugs down on his nightstand. It's still early, so he slips back into bed beside her, thinking he'll watch the morning news Jarvis has pulled up on the windows. Before he has the chance to do that, Pepper, in her sleep, snuggles close to his side and throws an arm around him. Tony smiles; she's possessive in her sleep. He picks up the possessive hand and brushes a kiss to her knuckles.

Pepper's eyes open and land on Tony. He still has her hand in his, right by his mouth. His eyes meet hers and he smiles, his eyebrows going up.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"You were molesting me in your sleep," Tony said, wiggling his fingers in the air. "I was just defending myself."

"By kissing the hand that molested you?" she asked, smiling as he handed her a mug of coffee. "Jarvis, would you put the news on, please?"

"Certainly, Miss Potts," Jarvis replied, and the news started playing on one of the bedroom windows.

"I suppose it's my way of showing you that you are free to molest me whenever you want," he said, taking her other hand and kissing the back of it as well.

"Sure, Tony," she said. "And I won't say anything about you doing inappropriate things to me while you're fully conscious."

"I know," he said. "It's because you don't want to tell me how much you like those inappropriate things to my face." She laughs and sips her coffee. When it's just the two of them at home, she's more open to his innuendos and doesn't put up the stern front that Tony loves trying to crack.

…

Pepper is in the bathroom, brushing her teeth while Tony is attending to his goatee. She loves watching him as he meticulously neatens the edges, concentrating. When he finishes, he sees her leaning against the counter, watching him intently.

"Yes, Miss Potts?" he asks, starting to style his hair.

"Why do you keep the goatee?" she asked. "I mean, I understand why you grew it when you first took over the company. It made you look more mature when you were so young. It just seems to be a lot of trouble to maintain."

"Do you not like it?" he asked, eyes meeting hers in the mirror.

"I do like it," she said. "It gives you a certain rakish charm."

"It's part of my style; I'm rather attached to it now," he said, running his fingers through his hair to distribute the product. It's the recommended amount he should be using, _Thank you very much, Rhodey. _"Besides, I don't think you'd like it if I didn't have the ability to do this."

He leans in and nuzzles her behind her ear, grazing her neck with his goatee. She shivers and grabs his waist to keep her balance, and tilts her head more to give him better access. "I think I'd keep the goatee forever just for that reason alone," he said.

"I think the goatee maintenance is an excuse to stare at yourself in the mirror for extended periods of time," she whispered in his ear. "It feeds your ego, which explains why it's abnormally large, especially when you consider the time spent on your hair."

"You don't want to admit that I know how to push your buttons as well as you do mine, Potts, and do you want to start a discussion about size when it comes to me?" he asks. "Do you really want to take it there?" He's still at her neck, but has progressed to kissing her, and her fingers are digging into his hips now.

"I prefer to take it back to bed," she said, pulling him out of the bathroom.

Tony's not sure who pushed whose buttons this time, but it looks like there's time for bedroom shenanigans this morning after all, so he doesn't care.

* * *

**I'm moving in less than a week and packing up my life is rather time consuming. Updates will be less frequent until after the move is complete and we get internet installed at the house. I promise to try squeezing in an update or two while at the office this week though!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm still packing! I wish the move were over already. Here's our texting during a meeting chapter, with Tony's new philosophy of not needing clothes when having a serious conversation mixed in.**

* * *

Pepper supposes she shouldn't be so surprised at the next strategy meeting when Tony is in a seat next to hers at the head of the table, swiveling back and forth, looking at the room through a pair of sunglasses. Their deal, when she agreed to stay on as CEO, entailed him attending board meetings. The fact that he's here for a non-required meeting has her on high alert. When she walks over to take her seat, he takes the sunglasses off and looks at her with an eager and overly innocent expression on his face.

There isn't time to lecture him about how he should conduct himself in a meeting so she takes her seat with an utterly serene expression on her face. She finds that the more attention you grant to him, the worse his behavior gets.

Sure enough, there's a text on her phone from him at the beginning of the meeting.

**Are you ignoring me?**

She doesn't reply to him.

**Oh, I know. You're imagining me in all my naked glory. **

Then again, not giving him attention makes his behavior worse too. She could see him watching for her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

**Definitely not. If you're going to come to a meeting voluntarily, take it seriously.**

Tony is giving an update on Stark Tower, and he's looking directly at Burt, their general counsel, seated down the table. She notices a response from Tony. She has no idea how he manages to text so discreetly.

**I am taking it seriously. I'm picturing you in all your naked glory, as I always do when I have a serious conversation, even if you aren't present, or in any way related to the subject of the conversation. **

The sad part is, she believes him, but she doesn't have to admit it, so she responds to him.

**Really? Because it looks like you're imagining Burt naked with the direction you're looking. **

Later, when Tony checks his phone, he smiles and begins typing a response back to the saucy Miss Potts, the tip of his tongue poking out from his lips as he concentrates.

**Does it bother you that I'm remembering your gorgeous legs wrapped around me while I speak to our company's lawyer? No imagination necessary - it's all facts, honey. **

Tony watches Pepper from the corner of his eye for her reaction. He has to wait a while because unlike him, she's giving 100% of her attention to the meeting. When she does look at her phone, he gets the satisfaction of seeing her eyes blink a couple times and then narrow and dart a quick glare in his direction. It's over in a second, and she's back to the cool and composed CEO. There's nothing he enjoys more than scandalizing the incorruptible Miss Potts.

**Do you come to these meetings just to pester me with inappropriate text messages?**

Pepper smiles and nods in response to a question directed at her and ignores her phone and Tony for a while. Tony, of course, had an answer to her text.

**No, I also come here to keep an eye on the guy across from me. I don't like the way he looks at you. Maybe I should intimidate him. Meetings have gotten much more interesting since you became CEO. **

She looks over at the alleged eyeballer and forces herself not to roll her eyes in the middle of a meeting.

**Right. Because a man old enough to be my father is clearly my type. **

Not too long after that, she gets another message from Tony.

**He could be a good sugardaddy? **

Pepper can't help but smile a little as she types her response.

**Isn't that what I have you for?**

While Tony is wondering when this meeting is going to be over, and responding to Pepper's cheeky text message, someone asks him a question, surprising him. He didn't sign on for this. He came in, gave an update, and just happened to be polite enough not to get up right after his piece was done. He stays for the texting, so he hits send on the partial message he's composed as he begins speaking to the table again.

After Tony is finished answering, Pepper looks down at her phone to see Tony's message.

**My enormous wealth...**

Pepper is confused at the cut off message and looks at Tony, to see him mouth: _and my enormous - _She jammed her stiletto heel into his foot before he could finish.

Everyone at the table turned to look in Tony's direction at the sound of his fist hitting the table and his laughter that followed. When he sees everyone looking at him (and Pepper glaring), he waves them off and coughs, then settles down to ponder if her heel stabbed through his sneaker. Perhaps he should start wearing sturdier shoes to meetings with her.

After the meeting she goes straight to her office with Tony following behind, hot on her heels.

"Brain! I was going to say brain!" he begins after he shuts the door.

"Sure you were," she said with her polite smile and taking a seat at her desk.

"I'm the one who should be mad! You're the one with the dirty mind here!" Tony said, pacing in front of her desk, hands behind his back.

"Me?" She settles back in her chair, waiting to hear Tony's inevitably smartass reply.

"You're the one picturing everyone we work with, even old dude, naked and then you go assuming I'm talking about the size of my... Iron Member." At this ridiculous euphemism, he turns and stares at her.

"Oh please," Pepper said. "Like I don't know that your texts are an attempt to get out of our deal for you to attend meetings. You want me to ban you from meetings."

"I would never do such an underhanded thing," Tony said indignantly, stalking up to stand against the edge of her desk. "But it would be a nice unexpected side effect to my flirting with you via text message."

She stood up, grabbed his tie to pull him closer, and kissed him soundly. "You're terrible at flirting."

"I look forward to improving my flirting at the next meeting," he said, ending it with a sweet kiss and a tug on her ponytail, before leaving her office.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi! So I'm mostly unpacked at our new house, and I was having a difficult time building momentum for writing a new chapter, so I'm starting with a small fluff chapter.**

* * *

Back at his workshop, Tony finds his thoughts returning to Pepper's joking claim about him being terrible at flirting while he's working on the Mark VII. Sure, she was joking, but there was probably a grain of truth somewhere at the bottom of it. It's not like he's really ever needed to exert any real effort to flirt or resort to romance to get a woman into his bed. His wealth and reputation took care of it for him, so he hasn't had much practice. Do inappropriate innuendos count as flirting?

"Jarvis, get Pepper on the phone," Tony said, as he crumpled up his old design and tossed it at his holographic skeeball target.

"Right away, sir," Jarvis replied over the bells of the bullseye a moment later.

"Yes, Tony?" Pepper's voice rang clearly through the room.

"Do inappropriate innuendos count as flirting?" he asked, spinning around in his chair.

"Why do you ask?" she responded.

"You said my flirting was terrible the other day when you were thinking dirty thoughts during a meeting," he said, still spinning.

"I've told you not to spin in your chair when I'm trying to talk with you," Pepper said.

"How did you know I was doing that? I don't have video enabled," Tony said.

"I can hear it," she said.

"What? Do you have bat-like hearing abilities?" he asked, popping off his seat.

"It's hardly a superpower, Tony," she said. "And I don't think you need to worry about improving your flirting. As you've commented, green is not my best color and I don't think I'd take too kindly to any interlopers now that I've finally had a taste of being Tony Stark's girlfriend." Her last sentence was dripping with sarcasm. Sometimes, when Tony is on a thought train about something random and/or annoying, she tries to derail the crazy train with a tangent.

"Are you avoiding answering my question?" he asked, wanting to look at her face to have this conversation, but makes do with staring at the picture of her hovering in the air by his workstation.

"No. And to answer your question, inappropriate innuendos could be construed as flirting, but that depends on the flirt and the flirtee," she said. He could hear the tapping of keys and smiled; his Pepper, always the multitasker.

"What if the flirt is me and the flirtee is you?" he asked.

"Then the question of whether your innuendos count as flirting depends on how annoyed I am with you at time of alleged flirtation," she said.

Tony doesn't say anything in response.

"What, no snappy comeback?" she said.

"I like it when you use that business-like manner of speaking with me," he said. "It's inspiring all sorts of fantasies right now. If you thought I was bad at meetings before, you ain't seen nothing yet, honey."

"As I said before, you're not getting out of our deal about showing up at board meetings," she said. "You can try all you want; I'm not budging."

"Challenge accepted," Tony said. It's not that he's trying to back out of their deal. He can't get enough of riling up his former PA. If he'd known how happy he'd be with this one woman, he'd have given up on other women long ago.

_Back at Pepper's office..._

Pepper thinks it's funny that Tony's phone calls to her go like this. Most of the time, they're not talking about anything in relation to Stark Industries, so she knows it's just an excuse for Tony to talk with her. It's sweet, although slightly annoying, which happens to be a perfect way to describe Tony's style of romance.

* * *

**To quote IM2: "It's good to be back!"** **I missed you guys!**


	19. Chapter 19

**In this one, Tony explains Pepperony. **

**Sorry for the longer times than usual between updates. I'm on holiday right now!**

* * *

It's never a good thing when your girlfriend stomps down the stairs and into your workshop in her stilettos, Tony thinks, as Pepper does just that.

The last time she looked this angry was when he gave away over half a billion dollars' worth of artwork to the Boy Scouts. To his knowledge, he hasn't done anything like that recently. Since he's fairly certain he has done nothing to cause her bad mood, he sits behind his bank of monitors with a totally innocent expression on his face as she unlocks the door.

"Do you know what kind of publicity nightmare your addition to Stark Tower is creating?" Pepper asked him.

"I thought they said any publicity is good publicity," Tony said, placing his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

"Not when you're Tony Stark and Iron Man!" Pepper exclaimed. "In typical Tony fashion, everything gets blown out of proportion."

"I'd say you're the one blowing things out of proportion right now," Tony said. "You haven't provided any information regarding what's making your eyebrows so angry."

"There's an editorial in the New York Times today about how your changes to the building are disrespectful to the history of the building," she said.

"Disrespectful to what? A now-defunct airline, or TV show based on the now-defunct airline? The Empire State Building, it is not," Tony said. "It was mediocre at best in appearance. I think my addition will give it the flair it's been lacking all its life." He got up from his seat and stood in front of her, pointing his finger at her.

"I don't think that's the response the PR department is looking for, Tony," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"If I work with PR and change the way Stark Tower is being received by the public, will you stop being unreasonably angry with me?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.

"I'm not being unreasonably angry," Pepper said. "You should've held a press conference about Stark Tower and its purpose before adding your Tony Tower onto the structure."

"Stop belittling the embodiment of my commitment to our relationship," Tony said. "And that name is all wrong for our residence. It's Pepperony tower."

"The embodiment of your commitment to our relationship is a real estate addition named after a cured meat?" Pepper asked.

"No, that's 'pepperoni' with an 'i,'" he explained. "Pepper plus Tony equals 'Pepperony' with a 'y.'" As he explains the nuances of their celebrity relationship nickname, he grabs a chair and begins working on the Mark VII. He may as well get some work done while they talk.

"When our relationship finally goes public, I'm never going to be taken seriously again," Pepper said, looking up at the ceiling.

"I highly doubt that," he said, looking at her through a holographic projection of the suit's deployment process. "Once the world gets an eyeful of Stark Tower's clean energy output, they'll have other things to talk about."

So Tony finally responded to the messages the PR department had left for him, saying that he agreed to do a full-on interview, and actually show up and answer questions.

And that's why he's at a table in an exclusive restaurant (notoriously difficult to get into unless you're rich or a superhero - fortunately, he's both), waiting for the reporter to show up so he can fix this minor PR issue. He finds it amusing how things have changed in his life. When he was at his worst playboy ways, he never stopped to explain why he did anything or apologized for his sometimes callous behavior. But for Pepper, he's willing to do it, although he'll still drag his feet. He doesn't want to make it that easy for her. Otherwise she'll know that all the power really lies in her petite hands.

He takes out his phone and composes a text to her.

**You owe me for this, Potts. **

She responds quickly: **I don't see why you fight so much about interviews. You get to talk about yourself. **

He laughs and types back: **You know it doesn't work like that, especially when I'm the most interesting man on the planet. There's lots of territory to cover, and I don't want to talk about all of it to just anyone. For example, what if the reporter asks if I'm seeing anyone now that I'm a superhero? **

Pepper responds with: **Are you asking me what you should do if the reporter hits on you? **

Tony writes back: **I don't want to make you all nostril flare-y again. **

She answers: **That doesn't seem to stop you from doing lots of things that make me "all nostril flare-y." Whatever, flirt with her. It's not like you have to sleep with every woman you talk to. Now shut up and do the interview. I have to run the company now. **

"Mr. Stark, how nice to see you again," a familiar voice said from above him.

"Ah, crap," he muttered under his breath, as he stood up to shake Christine Everhart's hand.

* * *

**I wanted to see Tony deal with rebuffing a woman while keeping his relationship with Pepper a secret. I haven't decided if he's going to spill the beans here though...**


	20. Chapter 20

**I was always amused by Jarvis's comment in IM2 about how refreshing it was to see Tony in a Youtube video with his clothing on, so I had to come up with something that was an example of one of these other incidents.**

* * *

TONY STARK'S SECRET GIRLFRIEND REVEALED!

Pepper couldn't resist clicking on the link in her newsfeed, thinking Tony had spilled the beans on their relationship during his interview the day before. He didn't mention anything about the interview to her, actually. In fact, they hadn't seen each other since before the interview. An apprehensive feeling crept into her middle as the page loaded.

"Iron Man spotted at trendy LA restaurant yesterday at cozy table for two. Perhaps his dining companion is the reason notorious playboy Tony Stark has been absent from the party scene in the last few months. The lady in question, Vanity Fair's Christine Everhart, responded 'No comment' when we reached out to her to ask if she has tamed our favorite superhero..."

Pepper skimmed the rest of the fluff piece and saw a photo of Tony and that reporter, him leaning forward and smiling in the middle of their conversation, and Christine lapping it all up. While she knew that Tony was different now, it was hard not to feel annoyed to see him with that woman in a photo and have people speculate that he had reformed his wicked ways for her.

_Back at Tony's workshop..._

Tony was elbows deep in the suit, literally, making refinements to the gauntlets and pondering the idea of making them independently mobile. The idea of an Iron Man gauntlet high-fiving him was strangely amusing. Ever since the interview with Brown-Berkley ended, he'd been working on the Mark VII, which he thinks he's finalized. If it works, he won't have to depend on someone else to deliver a suit to him. He's (mostly) forgiven Pepper for her inability to toss the Mark V to him quickly enough, but he still argues that she should be quicker on her feet after all those years of working for him. A crazy Russian with high-energy whips isn't that different of a high-pressure situation than that time he forgot his suit pants for that breakfast meeting...

"Miss Potts has just arrived," Jarvis supplied.

"Tell her to come down here," he mumbled around a screwdriver he had clamped between his teeth. "I need to ask her about that time I forgot my pants for a meeting."

"You're referring to the incident when you were ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange two years ago," Jarvis supplied. "The video went viral within two hours after the market opened."

"Yes, we can only be grateful you were wearing underwear," Pepper said as she entered the workshop. Tony quickly turned his head and spat out the screwdriver to the floor to smile at her.

"Much to your disappointment," Tony said. "Don't think I didn't notice you ogling my backside, Potts. It was probably one of your favorite days during your tenure as my PA."

"Definitely not," Pepper said, recalling the horror of Tony stepping out of the car with a business suit lackadaisically thrown on sans trousers and Happy's sheepish expression. She had immediately begun wondering if any of the other businessmen around her would sell her his trousers. By the time she found a seller, the damage was already done with Tony already posing and giving the press an eyeful. "I do think that was one of the most embarrassing days of my career." She closed her eyes and pressed a finger between her eyebrows in memory of the mortification. Her mother gave her an earful after that particular incident.

"I don't understand why you found it embarrassing; it's not like you weren't wearing your skirt and showing the world your undies," Tony said, eyes sliding downward to focus on her skirt. "Although I certainly wouldn't have been disappointed to see you dressed that way. I was always fascinated by the mystery of what you might have on under your business attire and would have appreciated clothing-optional workdays. Now that you're CEO, you should think about implementing that policy change."

Pepper was now looking at the ceiling, and her lack of comeback at his suggestion for dress code at SI set off an alarm in his head.

He extricated himself from the suit components to walk over to her. She doesn't like it when he grabs her while he's wearing experimental parts that he's tinkering with, still remembering that time when he was testing out the flight stabilizer and inadvertently launched himself backward ten feet. She worries about him, but she must know by now that his math is always right, except for those very few times it isn't. He places a hand at her waist, curving his fingers around, marveling at how slight she is when she's the strongest person he knows.

"What's up, Pep? That expression on your face isn't just from our stroll down memory lane," he said, putting a finger on her chin so that she's looking at him instead of the ceiling. "You're very quiet, and you always have something to say about my helpful suggestions for workplace policy change. You're being weird. I don't like it when you're being weird." As ever, his hands can't stay still, so he starts playing with the end of her ponytail.

In response, Pepper smiles while gazing into his eyes, slides her arms around him, and then pinches him on his overly-publicized behind.

"Ow!" he laughed. "What was that for?" She holds up her phone, which is displaying the post about his lunch with Christine.

"No, you can't be mad at me for that," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You made me do that." Her eyes narrow at his choice of words.

"Oh who's got the dirty mind now?" he continues. "I didn't mean 'do that' in _that _way! I didn't choose which reporter was doing the interview. You should get mad at PR!"

"You sound so guilty," Pepper said in an amused tone, pressing the tip of her index finger to his chest.

"Wait, you're not mad at me?" he asked.

"No, I'm not mad at you," she said, reaching up to brush his hair off his forehead. "How could I be, when you're so guilty over something that you couldn't control? You've never been guilty even at your worst."

"So you're not mad at me, but you're...something," he said, hand to chin and tapping a finger against his goatee.

"I just got annoyed at seeing her with you," Pepper said.

"I take back what I said," Tony said, pulling her in for a kiss. She looked confused. "Green is your color. I love it on you."

"Did you talk about Stark Tower's purpose at all in your interview?" she asked, relaxing in his arms and leaning into him. "Or was it all about your interior design choices for your newest residence?"

"If you must know, I gave a great interview and rebuffed all of the advances she threw my way," he said. "I deserve a reward." The hand he had resting on her waist snaked around to unzip her skirt.

"You always think you deserve a reward," she said, pulling his head down for a kiss, "but today, I agree with you."

_Later…_

Tony has Pepper tucked against his side in bed, and she's tracing patterns on his RT. He can almost hear the wheels turning in her pretty head.

"Pepper, your thinking is starting to kill my afterglow," Tony said, with his eyes still closed. "Just say it, unless it's criticism for my performance just now. You and I both know that I was amazing."

"You're so modest," she said, looking up at him.

"You know me: modest billionaire-playboy-philanthropist-superhero," he said. "Stop dodging."

"I think I'm ready to make our relationship public," she said, feeling a weight lift from her heart as soon as she said it.

"You're not worried about what people will say?" he asked, all serious now.

"After all these years working for you and with you?" She pretended to think. "I can handle it. Just wear pants when you're supposed to wear them and I can deal with the media."

* * *

**I read all the comments for and against Tony spilling the beans about their relationship. I was torn for a while too, hence why it took so long to update. I think I've come to a compromise. Sorry it took so long!  
**


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